Archive

* Many thanks to Matthias from Germany who made this post’s update possible! *

The Albanian car market is very particular, with as much as 1 in every 3 cars in circulation in Tirana and Durres second-hand Mercedes. The best selling new cars are also unique: a mix of luxury SUV’s dominated by the Range Rover, BMW X5, Mercedes M-Class, Porsche Cayenne, Range Rover Sport and Mercedes GL-Class!

Only then normal passenger cars follow, among them the Chevrolet Aveo, Fiat Punto, VW Golf and Opel Corsa. A few models have Albania as their only European port of call like the VW Gol, Chery QQ and Toyota Avanza… So a very interesting market indeed.

This rough speculation is based on Matthias’s observations in the streets of Tirana and Durres. Thanks again Matthias!

* 23 new posts have been uploaded – click on ‘Read more’ below for the direct links *

Historical info back to 1983 is now available for Europe! I have also added every Monthly Top 10 from 1996 to 1999 and from 2005 onwards, so you can see the complete evolution of the market over the years.

Out of the last 28 years, the VW Golf was the best selling car on the continent for no less than 24 years, with only four other cars holding the pole position at year-end: the Fiat Punto in 1997, Peugeot 206 in 2003, Opel Astra in 2006 and Peugeot 207 in 2007.

The Peugeot 206 was #1 in Europe in 2003

If you go into the detail of each month, then a few more cars managed to lead the European market for that amount of time: the Renault Megane, Ford Fiesta, Ford Focus, Renault Clio and Opel Corsa all ranked #1 at some stage over the last 20 years.

Click on ‘Read more’ below for the direct links to these 23 new posts.

* Now with the Top 200 best selling models: click on ‘Read more’ at the end of the post *

The German car market is definitely back on track, up 11% in March at 327,911 registrations. Unsurprisingly, the VW Golf is in the lead at 7.5% share, and it is followed this month by the Opel Astra, up 2 spots on February with 9,242 sales and 2.8%.

The VW Polo at #3 and Passat at #4 are slightly weaker this month, and the Opel Corsa is stable in 5th place. The Skoda Fabia delivers the best performance of the month, up 12 spots at #6 with 7,075 sales and 2.2% share. The Mercedes B-Class is also handling extremely well at #9 with 6,212 units.

Mercedes B Class

The only foreign model in the Top 20 is the Nissan Qashqai, up 4 spots at #20 with 4,638 sales, the Hyundai i30 (#22) and Toyota Yaris (#31) follow. Notice the Ford C-Max up 27 spots at #27 with 3,056 sales. A few all-new models appear in the ranking: the Toyota Verso-S at #117 with 625 sales, the Citroen DS4 (17 sales), Audi Q3 (13), Hyundai Veloster (4) and Lexus LFA (3).

* See the Top 50 best selling models by clicking on ‘Read more’ at the end of the post *

New car sales in Argentina are up for the 17th month in a row at +16% in March with 66,608 registrations. ACARA changes its methodology and doesn’t split models by version anymore, which has a significant impact on the ranking.

The VW Gol takes the first place, with its Trend and Power versions combined selling a total of 4,870 units and 7.3% share, ahead of the Chevrolet Corsa/Classic at 4,062 sales and 6.1%. The Peugeot 207 rounds up the podium at 2,971 sales and 4.5%.

The Ford Ecosport and Renault Sandero are solid at over 3% share, just above the VW Bora in 6th place. Renault has a good month with the Logan up 7 spots on February at #15 and the Fluence up 18 spots at #27 with 815 units.

For its first month of sales, the Peugeot 408 lands directly within the Top 50 at #45 with 420 sales and 0.6% share.

UK car sales are down for the 9th month in a row, at -8% in March with 366,101 registrations. March and September are traditionally the strongest months of the year in the UK as they coincide with the launch of new licence plates that act like a new model year.

For the first time since last November, the Ford Fiesta is #1 with 19,676 sales and 5.4% share, and given the weight carried by this month in the year-to-date ranking the Fiesta is now also #1 in 2011 overall at 5% of the market.

The new generation Ford Focus comes in at #2 with 14,370 sales and 3.9%, ahead of the Vauxhall Corsa at 13,556 units (3.7%) and Vauxhall Astra at 10,704 (2.9%). The VW Golf, #1 last month, is 5th at 10,282 units and 2.8%.

The Vauxhall Insignia stays strong at #6 whereas the Peugeot 207, Mini and BMW 3 Series all climb back into the Top 10.

* See the Top 50 best selling models by clicking on ‘Read more’ at the end of the post *

Car sales in Greece are not looking any brighter: still down 55% in March at 8,258 registrations and 43% year-to-date at 25,256.

The Opel Corsa is #1 for the second time this year with 398 sales and 4.7%, followed by the Ford Fiesta at 374 sales (4.4%) and the Ford Focus boosted by the new generation, up 10 spots over February in 3rd at 362 units (4.2%). The Toyota Yaris, still #1 year-to-date, is 4th this month.

There are a few great performances this month: the new Nissan Micra breaks into the Top 10 at #10 with 184 sales and 2.2%, the Audi A1 climbs to #17 with 128 sales and 1.5% and the Nissan Juke is 24th at 107 sales, for the first time above its big brother Qashqai at 98 units.

Car sales are up a whopping 34% in Denmark in February at 11,565 registrations. The Chevrolet Spark is #1 for the third time in 4 months, a significant achievement in a market as volatile as Denmark. Its 6% market share is also no mean feat given all models were under 3% in the Full Year 2010 ranking.

The Hyundai i10 takes the 2nd spot at a brilliant 4%, followed by the Opel Corsa and Toyota Aygo both at 3.4%. The Suzuki Swift is stabe at a solid 3% share, compared to 1.3% in 2010. The new Citroen C4 breaks into the Top 10 at #9.